When looking at how "rich" a state is, economists look at something known as gross domestic product, or GDP. It's one of those terms you may only vaguely remember learning about in high school Economics class. GDP refers to the total value of goods and services within a country over a set time period, according to Investopedia.
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According to the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis, GDP can't be measured in the same way by state as it is in countries, because state GDP involves a wide variety of goods and services. Thus, the main method is to measure it by total expenditures, or the number of incomes earned.
Thus, GOBankingRates looked at the relationship between median incomes, poverty rate and state GDP to determine which ones are the top 20 "richest" states. See if your state made the list.
20. North Dakota
- Median income: $68,131
- Gross state product: $73.3 billion
- Poverty rate: 10.7%
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19. Alaska
- Median income: $80,287
- Gross state product: $63.6 billion
- Poverty rate: 10.4%
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18. Delaware
- Median income: $72,724
- Gross state product: $87.5 billion
- Poverty rate: 11.4%
17. Oregon
- Median income: $70,084
- Gross state product: $299.1 trillion
- Poverty rate: 12.1%
16. Rhode Island
- Median income: $74,489
- Gross state product: $71.4 billion
- Poverty rate: 11.3%
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15. Illinois
- Median income: $72,563
- Gross state product: $1.03 trillion
- Poverty rate: 11.8%
14. Utah
- Median income: $79,133
- Gross state product: $248.2 billion
- Poverty rate: 8.8%
13. Minnesota
- Median income: $77,706
- Gross state product: $446.5 billion
- Poverty rate: 9.2%
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12. New Hampshire
- Median income: $83,449
- Gross state product: $104.4 billion
- Poverty rate: 7.4%
11. Texas
- Median income: $67,321
- Gross state product: $2.4 trillion
- Poverty rate: 14.0%
10. Virginia
- Median income: $80,615
- Gross state product: $649.4 billion
- Poverty rate: 9.9%
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9. Colorado
- Median income: $80,184.00
- Gross state product: $484.4
- Poverty rate: 9.6%
8. Connecticut
- Median income: $83,572
- Gross state product: $322 billion
- Poverty rate: 10.0%
7. Maryland
- Median income: $91,431.00
- Gross state product: $470.2 billion
- Poverty rate: 9.2%
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6. Washington
- Median income: $82,400
- Gross state product: $726 billion
- Poverty rate: 10.0%
5. New Jersey
- Median income: $89,703
- Gross state product: $745.4
- Poverty rate: 9.8%
4. Massachusetts
- Median income: $89,026
- Gross state product: $688.3 billion
- Poverty rate: 9.9%
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3. New York
- Median income: $75,157
- Gross state product: $2.53 trillion
- Poverty rate: 13.5%
2. Hawaii
- Median income: $88,005
- Gross state product: $98.2 billion
- Poverty rate: 9.5%
1. California
- Median income: $84,097
- Gross state product: $3.6 trillion
- Poverty rate: 12.3%
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Gabrielle Olya contributed to the reporting for this article.
Methodology: To find the Richest States in America, GoBankingRates gathered data on each state to make the calculations. The factors gathered for each state are; [1] State's GDP sourced from the 2022 Regional GDP in the US Census, [2] Zillow Home Value Index's 2023 Average home value for single family homes sourced from Zillow, [3] median household income sourced from the American Community Survey in the US Census, [4] State Tax Revenue per Capita sourced from the Tax Policy Center, and [5] Poverty percentage sourced from the American Community Survey in the US Census. All data was scored and the scores were combined to give a total score that ranked each states showing the Richest States in America. All data is up-to-date as-of June 6th, 2023.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 20 Richest States in America
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